A Father-Son Memory Lives on at Hornblower

Our guest reminisces on a special moment with his dad while creating new traditions at Hornblower Cruises.

On Friday, March 30, 2018 Hornblower San Diego received the following email:

Good Morning,

I was on the Whale Watching tour that took place on 3/28 at 9:30. It was a great experience but the best part for me was the ability to share a special moment with my wife.

Approximately 20 years ago my dad took me to San Diego to visit my uncle who was stationed out here when he was in the Marines. At the time I never knew the memories here would be so special but here is what happened 20 years ago: I stole pictures from you. I was about 10 years old. We bordered the Hornblower and you took our picture and when we exited my dad was ahead of me and he must have stopped and looked at the picture and decided not to purchase, but when I got there I saw our picture and took it without knowing it even costed us any money. I just saw our faces and assumed this was ours. By the time I caught up to my dad we were well off the boat and I said “dad I got our pictures.” Of course he was confused and unsure what to say. My dad loved the picture but was pretty cheap to say the least. Looking back I could tell he was torn between do I correct this or take these awesome pictures? I think my innocence won him over.

Fast forward 20 years to January 2018. My wife and I have made it a tradition to attend the Milwaukee Brewers opening day game. Yes we are from Wisconsin. This is the 4th year of that tradition and the first year the first game was on the road so we decided to make the trip for the season opener and attend the home opener as well. We booked the trip and I was able to share this story with my wife about how I accidentally took some pictures that would be become so special to me and my dad.

February 2018: my dad at the age of 56 passed away unexpectedly from the flu. It was a shock and hard to understand. At his funeral I spoke on behalf of the family and I shared the story of the pictures from 20 years ago. I decided to book the trip again to share the experience with my wife, and I made sure to PREPAY for our photos this time just in case. Call it a strange coincidence about how a month after my dad passed I’d be across the country here where my dad and I shared one of our favorite memories on a trip that was planned before he passed.

Anyways I just wanted to share that experience with you and thank you for all that you do.

Brad Maye

About Tony Cane-Honeysett

Tony Cane-Honeysett is Southern California Content Specialist for Hornblower Cruises & Events. He is also an Emmy Award winning documentary filmmaker and photographer. Previously, a copywriter for Chiat/Day, J.Walter Thompson and BBDO where he wrot... Read More